Dear Editor,
I wish to thank Ms. Gabriella Rodriguez for her support of the criticisms of The Atlantic Reader Book One (Letters, February 2, 2002, Re-design and re-publish the text) and I agree with her that it is an absolutely excellent idea for our children to have textbooks that are relevant to their lives, their home and their environment. I also agree that the Reader must be redesigned and republished and, this time, with a group of educators who reflects the diversity of our nation. This should definitely include educators such as Mr. Akram Hussain, Principal of ISA. The Islamic School; Swami Aksharananda, Principal of Saraswati Vidya Niketan; and a teacher, educator and/or leader from among our First Nations.
The drawings of our children should also depict the beauty of their physical appearance. Why do these Readers present to them, drawings that show children and elders who are de-raced? Are our children being conditioned to think that this is the ideal and that, therefore, there is something wrong with their particular physiognomy. Do these readers not present us, rather, with a grand opportunity to have our children like who they are, and to have them extend that feeling to their neighbours and playmates, all of which would develop pride and confidence from an early age? Could this not be a vital first step in dissuading suspicion of differences and help create the unity needed to have Guyana move forward and away from the racial strife of the past? A story-telling device that could be used for the readers would be to create a cast where everyone is placed on an equal footing. A cast of children named, for instance, Rajiv, Shawn, Michelle, Nesha, Savitri, Neil, Roxanne, etc., would have each one representing a race, ethnic/religious group that would include Indian, African, Chinese, Amerindian, Portuguese, and Mixed. Within that group would come the faiths of Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam.
They could invite each other into their homes for their respective festivals and celebrations. While Christmas was given its due respect as marking the birth of Jesus, Phagwah was presented as a time for frolic, minus its religious significance, and the story of schoolboy, Prahalad, who chose to worship God over his father. A diverse team of educators involved in creating the text would help guard against such prejudiced presentations of the various religious faiths. If used, this story-telling device could also include a social situation, where when invited into the home of Savitri, Nesha or Rajiv, the other children will meet their friend’s ‘aja’ and ‘ajee’, and ‘nana’ and ‘nanni’. Most Indian Guyanese families continue to use the traditional familial terms for their grandparents which convey whether they are maternal or paternal. The First Reader, rather insensitively, only presented the terms “grandfather” and “grandmother” to our pupils, as if these are universally accepted and used.
I fully support the idea of the Readers’ and hope that they will be reworked and republished after the necessary engagement and consultations that will ensure a fair representation of our nation’s diversity. To Ms. Rodriguez’s disagreement with me on the issue of Mashramani, I would remind her that the participants and on-lookers of what is a wining, grinding public display of sexual gyration is a minority of a minority of our citizenry, and that that is not good enough for what should be a day of truly national celebration that must include everyone. Perhaps, I can persuade Ms. Rodriguez to entertain the idea of a Republic Day parade which would be beautiful, decent, and show off the best of our nation in a proud and wonderfully aesthetic manner. I have written ad nauseam about this before, but since we have a young Minister of Culture, perhaps, he will have the courage to make the necessary changes and allow our nation to strike its own path, rather than copycat the worst of the carnivals of Trinidad and Brazil.
A wonderful Republic Day parade would include marching phalanxes of our soldiers, police and fire service in dress uniform; groups from the ministries and civic organisations such as Rotary, the Guides and Scouts; schools that would include our karate, judo, cricket and chess clubs; religious groups; and the private sector with beautifully designed floats that would not include any near-naked, misogynistic, back-balling tramping bands and the lawless music that accompanies this vulgarity. Now such a parade could definitely be included in our children’s readers as “a joy to watch”, and since our nation is on the cusp of change, let’s ensure that it is a change for the good of everyone.
Sincerely,
Ryhaan Shah
